Overview

• Greece has logged 82 new wildfires since Tuesday and warned of its most difficult 24 hours, formally requesting four water-bomber aircraft from the EU after deploying roughly 4,800 personnel and 33 firefighting planes.
• Spanish authorities are battling 14 major active fires across seven regions, evacuating about 6,000 people overnight and confirming at least two fatalities while opening arson investigations.
• Portugal, Italy, Albania and Montenegro have also mobilized thousands of firefighters and dozens of aircraft to combat a synchronized outbreak of blazes stretching across southern Europe and the Balkans.
• Prolonged drought, record heat exceeding 40 °C and gusts over 80 km/h have driven rapid fire spread and generated new ignitions that hamper containment efforts.
• Fire crews report exhaustion and injuries as resources stretch thin, and investigators have launched criminal inquiries into possible human causes of several fires.